In a new study, researchers found that for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the addition of zinc sulfate to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may improve health outcomes.
The research was conducted by a team from New York University.
The team collected data from electronic medical records for COVID-19 patients with admission dates from March 2 to April 5, 2020.
Hospital outcomes were compared for patients who received hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin plus zinc (411 patients) versus those who received hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone (521 patients).
The team found that the addition of zinc sulfate had no impact on the length of hospitalization, duration of ventilation or duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay.
However, zinc sulfate increased the frequency of patients being discharged home and reduced the need for ventilation, admission to the ICU, and mortality or transfer to hospice for patients not admitted to the ICU in univariate analyses.
The findings remained significant for increased frequency of being discharged home and reduction in mortality or transfer to hospice after adjustment for the time at which zinc sulfate was added to the protocol.
The team says their findings support the initiation of future randomized clinical trials testing zinc sulfate against COVID-19.
One author of the study is Philip M. Carlucci, from New York University Grossman School of Medicine.
The study is posted on medRxiv.org.
Copyright © 2020 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
